Tuesday, April 29, 2008

All in all, the roads looked pretty good. There were some big holes, but nothing that couldn't be easily navigated by bicycle. It looked like there was a small amount of new gravel in place, but for the most part, the roads were pretty smooth and wicked fast. That is about all for the road conditions as of right now. I will keep you updated as race day gets closer so that everyone can be prepared to make the appropriate wheel/tire/bike selections.

About the course itself:There is only going to be ONE area on the course where riders can meet their support crew. Since the course goes through a section of Spring Valley that offers no park(or parking) space, each rider may meet there support crew ANYWHERE inside the Spring Valley city limits. While your support crews may be spread out, there will be a race volunteer permanently positioned along the course in Spring Valley to hand out second section course maps. Also note that this ONE and ONLY checkpoint will be located at the 65 mile mark. The cut-off for reaching this point is going to be 7 hours (3 o'clock). If you do not make the checkpoint before the cut-off time you will be disqualified from the event. Questions? Now is the time to get them in.

Thursday, April 17, 2008

Well I've rounded up all of the postcards that I felt might be worthy of a fresh bottle of something sweet. It was difficult, but decisions needed to be made. So, here is a link to the photo album that contains the cream of the crop. Take a look and let me know what you think. Somebody has to walk away with a glass bottle of goodness.

So I "drove" the course yesterday morning and it looks great. The roads were pretty well in tact from this seasons thaw, no big cracks or big holes. There were plenty of rolling hills, some nice flats that should be headed directly into the wind and some weird concrete Masonic shelter in the middle of absolutely nowhere. This years course is going to roll right past a bike shop in St. Charles, within yards of food and liquor in Chatfield and practically through the parking lot of a convenience store in Spring Valley. Traffic was non-existent, dogs didn't prove to be a challenge for the trusty Subaru and there was only one residence that gave me the Deliverance creeps. All in all it looks good, from the drivers seat anyway, but I will be riding the whole thing in a couple of weeks to give an official rider report. Until then....

*I have put a fair amount of my own time and money into keeping this event free. If you enjoy not paying an entrance fee, please be respectful to the places this event will take you and remember; IF YOU ARE GOING TO DROP YOUR ENTRANCE, PLEASE LET ME KNOW IN ADVANCE. This will help keep this event free for years to come.

Save but a few potential postcards in the mailbox today, this registration window is CLOSED. I will not accept anyone else at this point. If you missed it, YOU MISSED IT. I will post a final tally of all riders late tonight or early tomorrow morning. I also intend to post the photo finalists for the best postcard award. I am riding in the Ragnarok 105 this weekend, so, barring any negative results from hypothermia, I will hopefully have the images up here by Monday.

Tuesday, April 1, 2008

For anyone who might interested, I am going to be riding 40 miles down to Lewiston, Minnesota this Sunday(4/6). I am riding down to run in the Fools Five road race. Right now my plan is not to ride back following the foot race, but that can change depending on how many others would like to make it a round trip. Let me know if your interested and I'll give you more specific information.